Skip to main content

Frequently Asked Questions

Helmholtz specific questions​

Who can use the Helmholtz RSD?​

The Helmholtz RSD is open to all users that are associated with the Helmholtz Association. Specifically, this means that the user has an account at a Helmholtz institution that they can use to log in via HelmholtzID (formerly Helmholtz AAI).

Under specific circumstances, the Helmholtz RSD can also be used by users of non-Helmholtz institutions. This requires that they are closely associated to a Helmholtz organisation.

How do I get access as user who is not part of a Helmholtz organisation?​

If you do not have an account at a Helmholtz institution, you can use the Helmholtz RSD if you are closely associated with a Helmholtz institution. To obtain access, please ask one of your partners at Helmholtz that you are closely collaborating with, to send us an e-mail asking to add your e-mail address to our allow-list.

If you are unsure which e-mail address to use, try to log in by selecting your home institution. You will be shown an error message that will include the precise e-mail address we need to provide you access.

General RSD questions​

Why can't I see the software and projects I contributed to when I'm logged in?​

Your account is for administration purposes only, i.e., your account is for editing software, project and organisation pages to which someone gave you the rights to edit them. We are working on creating 'profile' pages where you can see all contributions made by one person, aggregated on ORCID, so make sure to add your ORCID on all your contributions.

Can I add a profile picture to my account?​

Currently not, as accounts are for administrative purposes only (see also the question above). We are considering to add this in the future.

Why is there no citation block on my software page?​

We can harvest the citation information of all releases based on the Zenodo concept DOI you provide to us. You can enter the concept DOI on the Information tab of the edit page. There is a button below the field that will check for you if the DOI you entered is a valid concept DOI, and it will propose to update your DOI if it can detect the corresponding concept DOI for the DOI you provided.

The citation block / Git activity graph / programming languages are still not visible​

These are harvested in the background. The various harvesters run every few minutes, harvesting a small part of the RSD. When you change the corresponding fields, you are usually first in line to be harvested, so check again in a few minutes.

Why can't I delete my software/project page?​

Deleting pages might have unwanted side effects, please contact us if you accidentally created a page. You can use our development site, which we regularly clear, to try out all the features.

Do you have a public forum for discussions and questions?​

You can use the GitHub discussions page for this.

Where can I request a new feature or report a bug?​

You can use the GitHub issues page for this.

Can I create a dedicated software page for a workshop about a software package?​

If your workshop has a dedicated Git repo, has releases and software examples (i.e. the workshop is similar to something that one can consider to be software), then you can go ahead and make a dedicated software page for your workshop. Please create a link, as related software, to the software page your workshop is about.

If your workshop looks more like a static collection of files, e.g. a collection of slides, then please only add this as output to the software page of which the workshop is about.

Please use your best judgement, and if you have any doubts, you can contact us.